Comic Ron Funches makes the most of his punch lines

Wednesday

Jun 11, 2014 at 12:01 AMJun 11, 2014 at 10:49 AM

CHICAGO - Ron Funches is a comedy assassin. He lurks on the fringes of scenes on his new sitcom, Undateable. He listens. He reacts. But he stays quiet. Until the perfect moment appears, and - wham - he often strikes with an off-color, seemingly off-the-cuff retort that leaves the studio audience in stitches.

CHICAGO — Ron Funches is a comedy assassin.

He lurks on the fringes of scenes on his new sitcom, Undateable.

He listens. He reacts. But he stays quiet.

Until the perfect moment appears, and — wham — he often strikes with an off-color, seemingly off-the-cuff retort that leaves the studio audience in stitches.

Then he retreats to the periphery, basking in the collective chuckle and waiting for his next opportunity to cut in with a razor-sharp punch line.

“He’s really like the drive-by guy that comes and hits you with this moment and then gets out,” said Brent Morin, who plays protagonist and bar owner Justin on the NBC series.

Undateable follows Justin and his gang of lovable losers as they try to escape arrested development and enter into healthy relationships.

Lady’s man Danny — played by former Whitney star Chris D’Elia — is introduced to the group after becoming Justin’s roommate and decides to take the men under his wing, guiding them in the ways of love.

Funches plays Shelly, a sports-loving, happy-go-lucky guy who lacks confidence around women. He is the most lovable of the losers.

Although Funches might not have the most lines or screen time, he has easily become the show’s most memorable character. His cool delivery and winning one-liners balance the comedy of his co-stars.

“A lot of us are really manic and animated, and so whenever we have a joke that comes out of nowhere, it’s always given to Ron,” D’Elia said. “He kind of slows the pace down. He just stands out so much because he is so different.”

Funches, 31, is enjoying this moment in his career, he said from Los Angeles.

In addition to Undateable, Funches is working on a talk show for Funny or Die and still tours widely as a stand-up comic.

“I want to try as many things that I never tried before as I can,” he said. “Being on a sitcom is never something that I thought I would do, and seeing my face on a billboard or a bus is crazy. I used to be in the bus, and now I am outside the bus looking at my face on it.”

Funches aced his audition, said Undateable co-creator Bill Lawrence (Spin City and Scrubs).

“Whatever he said became the new script because it was so funny,” Lawrence said. “Sometimes people even laugh at his setup lines — things that we don’t inherently think are jokes on the page. It’s a gift as a comedy writer that you can write something that is maybe a B or B-minus and he turns it into an A.”

Many of the Undateable cast members spoke of a fraternal atmosphere on the set. They had a really good time during filming, they said, and it comes through on-screen.

“I never really had people I would consider my brothers or close guy friends, and now I do,” Funches said. “I work with them every day, and we hang out all the time.”